The company will be selling 2.7 lakh KTM motorcycles this year to achieve this goal, Chakan plant to be a premium hub.
Harley-Davidson has been experiencing a fall of 2-4 percent in its year-on-year motorcycle sales. Bajaj Auto is looking to further lower Harley-Davidson’s confidence by selling more bikes than them. For this, the company is banking heavily on KTM motorcycles, nearly 45 percent of which it manufactures in its Chakan Plant in Pune, Maharashtra.
Bajaj Auto, which now owns 48 percent in KTM gave it a start in the Indian market that many companies can only dream of. The Duke and later the RC models have proved to be a huge success in the entry-level sports bike segment. To put it in perspective, KTM sold 65,000 units in 2007 when they were still new in the market. During the same time, Harley-Davidson sold around 3,00,000 units. But this year will see KTM selling close to 2,70,000 units of its bikes while Harley-Davidson will be selling 2,31,000-2,36,000 units during the same period.
Bajaj is not only trying to overtake Harley-Davidson but it is also looking to make its Chakan plant a premium bike manufacturing hub. For this, the company is banking heavily on the KTM and Husqvarna motorcycles. 1 lakh of the 2.7 lakh KTM bikes that the company plans to sell will be produced here. The KTM 390 Adventure too is expected to join this production line next year. Two Husqvarna motorcycles, the Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 401 too are coming to India in 2019. They will also be produced in the Chakan factory.
One interesting development is also about a future alliance between Bajaj and Triumph. Both the companies have been in talks for about a year and a contract is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. Bajaj wants to make its Chakan plant a production house for the Triumph motorcycles. There will also be an in-house design facility for the Triumph motorcycles. Triumph was even chalking out a 500cc motorcycle for developing countries like India but squashed it later citing reasons best known to them.
If Bajaj does bring Triumph on-board, the company will be setting even bigger targets for itself. The rise in the entry-level sports bike segment has made Bajaj think that with KTM and Husqvarna, it can manage to sell 5,00,000 units in the not too distant future. This is still just a figure which will largely depend on how the Husqvarna motorcycles are received by the Indian audience.
Bajaj Auto Sales
– The company wants to make it a premium bike manufacturing hub
– Will overtake Harley-Davidson in sales units this year
– KTM, Husqvarna and maybe even Triumph will be manufactured here
Source – MoneyControl.com